The Kitten
by Hobbity321
Summary: Raven recieves an unexpected plea from Beast Boy...


**_I don't own the Teen Titans!_**

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><p>For the first time in months, the Tower was absolutely silent. Robin and Starfire were out for the day. Cyborg had muttered something about a car show, walking out to his Baby in a daze, and Beast Boy had loudly proclaimed that he was going to the downtown arcade.<p>

Of course, the annoying green teen had tried to cajole her into coming. Raven rolled her eyes at the thought of his goofy, excited expression.

Raven remembered the wounded expression that had been on his face when she'd said a very deadpan, "No." But he'd perked up, so she had no reason to feel bad.

And there was the whole idea of the tower being quiet...

Raven allowed herself a small, barely-there smile at the thought. Holding a dark novel in one hand and a cup of tea in the other, the girl slowly walked from the kitchen into the common room and sat down, opening the book to her book marked page.

She had to enjoy the silence while she could-it was sure to end quickly.

As if mocking her, the doors to the elevator opened. Raven stifled a groan of annoyance as hurried footsteps made their way toward her.

A foul, rancid stench hit Raven's nose. Her eyes bulged and she stifled the urge to clap a hand over her nose. Instead, she kept her eyes on her book, hoping that Beast Boy would go away and, preferably, take a shower.

His emotions were giving her a headache as well. There was a suffocating amount of grief and rage around Beast Boy. The cause could have easily been a series of losses at the arcade. Sadness often hovered around Beast Boy nowadays anyways, no matter how badly he tried to disguise it with bad jokes and tofu arguments.

Raven did not look up.

"Rae."

There was so much pain in his voice. He sounded on the verge of tears. But Beast Boy tended to become upset about the most idiotic things.

Mouth poised to give him a sarcastic tongue lashing for interrupting her and calling her that _obscene_ nickname, Raven looked up.

The words died on her lips.

It wasn't the drooping of Beast Boy's pointed ears, or the uncharacteristic frown on his slightly trembling lips.

It was his eyes. They were wide and round, shining with unshed tears.

And in his hands, he held a tiny puff of gray. Its fur was matted, missing in some places. Maggots hungrily dug into sores. Beast Boy hardly seemed to notice. The small creature moved feebly, turning its head to reveal bright blue eyes that weeped a yellow liquid. Its eyes stared at her mournfully, then closed-Raven could barely see it's small chest rising and falling, but she could hear the shallow breaths. Each one sounded painful.

Raven tore her eyes away from the pitiful sight, looking back at Beast Boy's face. He shoved the animal at her. The little kitten shook.

"Fix her," he pleaded. "She's dying and I-I didn't know what else to do. The vet would just tell me to put her down but I _can't_-I just-" he choked on a sob.

Stuck silent, Raven could only take the kitten from him, gently setting it onto her lap. It hadn't opened its eyes again, but looked at her through slits.

"Beastboy..."

"_Please."_ He was on the ground in front of her, kneeling.

Raven closed her eyes. The hopelessness of the situation was glaringly obvious; the kitten barely had any time left. Already beneath her fingers, Raven could hear her slowing heart.

But for Beast Boy, she closed her eyes and slowly began her chant.

Five minutes later, she sighed deeply. To her surprise, tears were brimming just beneath her eyelids. She forced them back with a harsh swallow and threw her hood over her head.

Beast Boy slowly reached over and took the limp kitten from her lap. His eyes were suddenly dry, filled with defeat. His shoulders slumped. Raven stretched out a hand to comfort him, then pulled back.

"Come on, Beast Boy," she said, her voice devoid of emotion. "We need to bury her."

He said nothing, and he did not move.

Hours later, Robin, Starfire, and Cyborg came in laughing. Starfire turned and abruptly, the laughter stopped.

She zoomed over to the pair, green eyes wide in concern. "Friend Raven, Friend Beast Boy, what great tragedy has-" she caught sight of the kitten and gasped, her eyes filling with tears.

"Oh my," she whispered.

Around sunset, the unnamed kitten was buried by the shore. Robin stood, comforting his hysterical girlfriend as she wept great tears. Cyborg smoothed the dirt over for the thousand time and hung back, unsure.

Standing to the side, Raven stood with her hood over her head. Beast Boy stood next to her, his face dim.

Robin cleared his throat awkwardly. "We may not have known you for very long, but-" he was cut off with a loud sob from Starfire, who squeezed him harder. The masked leader wheezed out a few more words, then went to lead Starfire back inside.

Cyborg gave the green teen a pat on the back. "Sorry, dude." He lingered for a moment longer, then followed the path that the earlier couple had taken.

Beast Boy and Raven silently looked on the small grave. It faced away from the bay, marked by a small circle of smooth stones that Starfire had collected earlier.

"I found her on the side of the road." Beast Boy finally said softly. "Someone had dumped a box full of them...she was the only one still moving."

And then he began to cry.

Raven didn't know what to say. She knew that this was more than a box of kittens, but she had no clue what to do.

So she did something that she had only done once before in her life.

Raven hugged him.

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><p>A few days later, when the entire tower was asleep and she was sure that it was going to be a lazy day, Raven quietly slipped out of her room.<p>

She easily made her way through the hallway undetected, going up to the roof. The first rays of sunlight were just peeking over the skyline. The city barely made any noise below.

Raven took flight.

It only took a few minutes of persuasive glaring, paperwork, and stuttered recognition before she was finished with her task. Satisfied, the girl took her burden and went back to the tower.

At breakfast, she sat, drinking her tea quietly. The aforementioned novel was spread before her. She took in the words, absently nodding a hello as their leader trudged in.

"Morning, Raven," the boy wonder stretched and walked into something. A loud protest of mewls rose from the unknown object.

Robin blinked. "Raven?"

"Yes?" Raven asked in her normal monotone.

"Why is there a box of kittens in the middle of the kitchen?"

"So that I may keep an eye on them, of course." Raven sipped her tea, ignoring the bewildered stare of the team leader.

"Well I know that," he said, bewildered. "But what-?"He paused for a moment. "Look, Raven, I know what you're doing. TO be honest, I'm really surprised by it as well. But we do not need another responsibility to-"

"Good morning, friends!" Starfire glided into the kitchen. Having made the entire team partake in the Pudding of Sadness, she was a bit more cheerful.

"Morning, Star." Robin automatically perked up. But Starfire wasn't looking at him. No, she was already in the middle of the kitchen and staring into the box, wonder and joy plain on her face.

"Friend Raven! We have the most adorable creatures in the middle of the kitchen! May I ask why?" Starfire gently picked up a pure white one, already in love.

"I adopted them from a kill shelter," Raven informed her. "They were scheduled to be euthanized today."

Starfire looked at her with wide, innocent eyes. "Friend Raven, what is a _shelter of kill_? And what is this_ euthanized _that you speak of?"

"Nothing, Star," Robin said quickly. He was ready to protest, but he knew when he'd been beat. "Do you want to make breakfast? I'm sure that everyone's dying for a Tameranean meal."

That distracted Starfire well enough. With a squeal of glee, she launched herself towards the cabinets. Robin shot Raven a look.

Raven calmly sipped her tea. After a while, Cyborg drifted in, making a secret face at Starfire's...concoction, then pulled out some bacon.

"What with the kitties?" He asked, pausing in his work.

"Ask Raven," Robin said glumly, scooping another spoonful of Starfire's "meal". He didn't appear to stop and taste it; instead he just swallowed with a grimace. Starfire, who had moved the box of kittens into the living room and was cooing at them, did not notice.

Cyborg looked at the silent resident of the table expectantly.

"I saved them from a kill shelter," Raven explained with a patient sigh. "We can find them homes by the end of the day."

"Hey, guys," Beast Boy muttered, slumping into the kitchen. His green hair, grown out recently, stuck out everywhere, and he was only in a pair of boxers and a light green shirt. Raven did not even nod in his direction, which saddened him a little.

He yawned widely. Cyborg flipped a piece of bacon. Beast Boy winced as it sizzled, but only spared him a glare as he sleepily dug out his soy milk.

"Friend Beast Boy!" Starfire zoomed into the kitchen, all eight of the kittens in her arms. "Look what Friend Raven has brought! Are they not lovely!" Starfire shoved the squirming kittens into his face.

He blinked, slowly lowering the carton of soy milk from his lips.

For a long moment everyone, mostly Raven, though she did not show it, waited for his reaction. Would he be angry? Storm back to his room and isolate himself as he did when he was really upset? Brush it off?

But no.

A slow, creeping smile spread onto Beast Boy's face. He beamed at the purple haired teen, who, in turn, threw up her hood to cover her blush.

And then, suddenly, he was gone.

A green, slightly slim kitten made its way under the table and hopped up into Raven's lap, purring. Beast Boy shoved his head under the hand resting on his lap and rubbed himself against her. She blushed even more. The toaster exploded, earning a yelp from Cyborg.

He hopped off her lap then transformed into a smiling Beast Boy.

"Just thought you wouldn't let me hug ya."

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><p><strong>Thank you to my wonderful dogs, Bella and Duchess for the inspiration. It's actually based on a true story, but thankfully the kitten lived. Are the characters OOC? I tried my best to keep them all in character, but this if my first TT fanfic so yeah...sorry if there are errors! I'm SO SLEEPY!<strong>

**Review, rate, or whatever! Have a nice day!**

**-S.G.R.**


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